What it means to be an artist today

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of the artist in the community. These days I’m especially interested in what it means in terms of this concept of sustainability. We all know that the old models, especially in my industry (music) are crumbling around us. Everyone is trying to figure out what the new models will be. My thought has long been that maybe we should be looking back in time, aiming at cycling back to something older, something pre-dating post-industrial market-capitalism. Something based in a connection with community.

Tonight I just stumbled on a blog post that speaks to all this, and resonates with the direction I hope to go. I am sending this out to all my current and former students, because the thesis is something I believe provides a baseline for the kind of sustainability that we all are seeking.